A Septet of Valentine's Days
by cylobaby
Summary: What happens when you add one lovesick boy, an extremely reluctant redhead and some Valentine's Days? Some drama, some self discovering and, as inevitable with all Marauder stories, some humor.
1. First Year

Life can often be judged by a single event. The stray curse, the first kiss. However, sometimes I find it takes a little more.

First Year:

It had only been seven months since I had been thrust into a new world, one filled with magic and fear, and I was already adjusting. Maybe it was because I was so young. Eleven years gives enough time to give a bit of maturity, but the mind is still open to change. Needless to say, I was thrilled to discover the world of fairytales was real and I was an intricate part of it. That changed when I learned that there was someone out to destroy it.

I spent several weeks in fearful isolation, fearing for my family and myself. I was being prejudiced against by people I never even heard of before. Mocked by my new classmates for something I couldn't control. Shunned by my sister for something else, but something equally beyond my control.

Still, somewhere between the thrill and the fear, I made friends. I slipped into a groove with the fantastical schoolwork and the harsh prejudices surrounding. I became accustomed to most everything.

Then there was James Potter.

Since the moment he first spotted me I had become the center of his teasing. I know now that it was good-natured and to hide an attraction, but at the time I was infuriated. This time I wasn't being mocked for my blood or my ignorance. It was for something even more beyond my control.

"Hey carrot-top, pass me the eggs!" he called from across the table. I turned from my conversation with Tina, a nice second-year, to give him my best death glare. He laughed. "C'mon my little redhead. I'm a growing boy and I need food."

"Get 'em yourself," I shot back.

"You know what today is?" asked Potter, waggling his eyebrows.

I gestured to the heart decorations that covered the Great Hall and to the rose petals scattered over the table. "It's kind of hard to miss."

He blew one of the aforementioned petals across the table at me so it landed on my robes. "They match your hair," he said, smirking.

Unfortunately, the forkful of eggs that I threw at him then missed entirely and hit Professor McGonagall as she walked past our table, landing me in detention for my first Valentine's Day at Hogwarts.

LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ LJ

**I plan on having a chapter or two a day until our V-Day, ending on their 7th year V-Day.**


	2. Second Year

Second Year:

The flow of the magical society had become as natural as the ocean to me by February of my second year at Hogwarts. Despite a few unexpected waves, life was smooth when the Day of the Never-ending Hearts rolled around again.

When I woke up, however, a tsunami (metaphorically) crashed onto me. I was seeing red (both metaphorically and literally.) Our entire dormitory was stuffed full of vibrant red and white roses, large heart balloons, candy boxes and several mammoth teddy bears. That wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that each piece of Valentine memorabilia was inscribed LE+JP 4EVER.

Storming down to the Common Room with the laughter of my dorm mates ringing in my ears, I found the bane of my existence laughing with his friends by the fireplace. "Potter!" I shouted at him, face redder than my hair.

"Yes?" he asked with a smooth eyebrow-raising. Sirius Black, one of the four idiots, cackled quietly.

"Explain this," I growled, shoving a box of chocolates with that terrible phrase on the front.

He took a long look at the box, opened it, and popped a chocolate into his mouth. After chewing a few times, he grinned at me and winked. "Thanks Evans. Didn't know you felt that way about me."

By now the majority of our house had ventured to the Common Room and was watching us amusedly, much to my mortification. As a clumsy muggleborn preteen the last thing I wanted was to be under the scrutiny of all the older students. "I hate you!" I hissed, snatching the box of candy back and scurrying back up to my dorm.

"Love you too!" he called to my retreating back.

I stopped two stairs up and turned around. "You are an idiot!" I screeched. There was general laughter around the room, though whether at Potter or at my pitiful attempt at a comeback I didn't know.

He laughed and looked around the room, relaxed in the limelight. "She wants me," he confided in a stage-whisper. Needless to say, I didn't show my face until the next day.


	3. Third Year

Third Year:

Looking back over my school years I find that third was possibly the worst year for me. After the calm voyage I had taken across my first two years, I was surprised to find prejudices heightened beyond ever before when I returned from the summer. For the Slytherins like Snape and Malfoy (who was extra intimidating because he was a seventh year), age only ignited their dislike of me and my "kind" to new levels. The simple taunts of my early years were gone, replaced with malicious hexes and verbal attacks.

I matured both physically and mentally that year. With puberty I also learned that no matter how long I stayed and merged with the magical world I would always be rejected for the blood I was born with.

Unlike some muggleborns in my year I grew stronger under the pressure. While my poor peers like Mary Johnston from Hufflepuff and Michael Twane from Ravenclaw were sent to the Hospital Wing month after month with an unremovable hex and tears coursing down their face, I refused to venture to the Hospital Wing. My pride simply would not allow. I relied on my own wit and both my knowledge and the knowledge my friend Remus Lupin seemed to absorb out of books to retaliate against my enemies.

Remus, a good guy despite his tendency to act idiotic when hanging with Potter, was my backbone through that year. We had bonded over a project in Charms and I had found that his intellectual company was much preferable over the inane gossip that flooded my dormitory.

Whenever I was feeling as though I had might as well snap my wand in half and join the Muggles, Remus reminded me that the whole point of the wizarding world was to provide refuge for outcasts. Thinking on that now, I find it ironic that he remained so optimistic despite the never-ending prejudice he received due to his furry problem.

By the time Valentine's Day rolled around in my third year, I was an intelligent fireball full of pent-up emotions.

"Hey Evans," whispered Potter across the table at breakfast. If I had gotten more mature that year, then he had done the exact opposite. Being the studious girl I was, along with the fact that I hated Potter, I steadily ignored him, reading the Potions text for the upcoming test. "Hey Evans!" he tried again.

I looked up sharply and snarled, "I'm trying to read! Will you shut up?"

"Hey Evans," he tried again. When I didn't reply, he snatched the book from my hands.

"What?" I exclaimed.

He gave a smile and tossed his short hair as well as he could. "So, Hogsmeade's tomorrow, right?"

A sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach told me what was coming. "I don't care," I said hurriedly, feeling a traitorous blush rise on cheeks.

"Wanna go with me?" he asked.

There was a ringing in my ears. "Did you just ask me out?" I said when I regained control of my vocal chords.

"Well, I… yes," he said, looking uncomfortable. I obviously hadn't reacted the way he'd thought I would.

"Well, I… no," I spluttered. "I would never date you!"

"It's just one date," he urged. "C'mon, Evans."

I shook my head and made to stand.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Don't—"

I stood up and triggered a spell that caused dozens of roses of fall over the Gryffindor table. Large gold letters flashed over the table proclaiming, "AND TOMORROW BE SURE TO LOOK FOR ONE JAMES POTTER AND LILY EVANS OUT ON THEIR VERY FIRST DATE OF MANY! BUY TICKETS NOW!"

Mortified, I glared at Potter. "Explain."

He gave a nervous shrug. "I assumed you'd say yes," he said in the meekest tone I'd ever heard him use.

I gave a little angry shudder. "No! No! NO! I will not date you, now or ever! Just leave me alone!"


End file.
